Guns 'N Roses Appetite for Destruction turns 25

David Konow, 22nd July 2012

It's an anniversary that makes me feel increasingly older every time it hits the next five-year mark, but Appetite For Destruction just had another birthday.

One of the most savage, honest, and truly great rock albums in history is now 25 years old, and God knows how, but all five members of the band are still alive at press time.

For many people, Appetite is an album that's been played to death on the radio, like any great "classic rock" album, but the feeling of what it meant when it came out, considering I was a teenager back then, is still pretty vivid in my heart and mind. I've said it many times before, but Appetite is absolutely one of those "soundtrack to your life" albums, that takes you back when you hear it.

Or at least it was. It does seem like that feeling grows fainter every year, and the success of Appetite has become one of the biggest cautionary tales in rock history, as Axl continues to trash the legacy of Guns every chance he gets.

Of course it would have been wonderful if Axl ever got his shit together and the band could have stayed together, put out more great albums and toured, but this was just impossible. Even Axl trying to hold his silly karaoke act masquerading as Guns N Roses is a ridiculous struggle, all thanks to Rose's self-destructive ways.

So really, what else can we say that hasn't already been said about this legendary album, but here's a brief recap. It will always be what the band will be best remembered for, it will never be topped by any of the original members, certainly never by the new "GNR," it's a sorry reminder of what the band coulda, shoulda, woulda been, and also a reminder that success, especially in rock, can be very fleeting.

Rock careers are indeed often supernovas, and Guns were too volatile to ever have the kind of career the Stones had, or even Aerosmith. In fact, they're lucky they ever Appetite and got it out in the world, but whatever bullshit they had to go through to do it, it was definitely worth it.